Colorado-Medical-Marijuana-Blog

According to sources last year, the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry was in a severe slump, suffering from a radical drop in the amount of patients applying for a card. As of the end of January 2012, however, this slump seems to have turned around, posting an increase of nearly 3,000 patients. Most of the statistics remained the same though. The average patient age remained at 42, while women accounted for only 32% of the registry patients. The largest number comes from people registering someone else as their caregiver. There are currently at least 10,000 registered caregivers in the state of Colorado. Although the state experienced this rise in patients in January, they are still approximately 43,500 patients below the peak enrollment recorded in June 2011. Many patients have cited privacy concerns when it comes to renewing their cards, stating a dislike for the intrusion of their privacy regarding buying habits and quantities, while others had their applications denied and have been forced to wait six months before reapplying. The CDPHE stated that their primary focus during the next few months will be to process applications within the 35 day window rather than keeping the website updated due to the smaller number of people they currently have in employment.

Many users of medical marijuana in Colorado have had a growing concern regarding their personal information becoming public through state-maintained databases. This concern grew with the passing of legislation in 2010 assigning regulatory authority of medical marijuana centers, Infused Product Manufacturers and growers to the Colorado Department of Revenue. This legislation required the Colorado Department of Public Health to share limited, non personally identifying information to the DOR in order to verify the number of patients a marijuana center is serving as a provider. There is currently no such database which allows the two agencies to share information. Should this database be created, it will be intended for law officials to have access to verify whether individuals have a valid ID card. However, they can only access the system using information provided by the patient directly and no names or personal information will be shared.

True to form, the medical marijuana business has provided more challenges to lawmakers and business owners alike. The State has recently approved a two million dollar budget to hire temporary processors to eliminate the backlog of medical marijuana applicants. According to state officials, the backlog has grown to over 60,000 unprocessed applications. This is problematic in more ways than one. First, new Colorado cannabis laws require medical marijuana applications to be processed in thirty five days – woops. Also, this opens the door for more fraudulent activity as patients are using their State provided paperwork in lieu of a license. Finally, it has opened the door to forgery and fraudulent activity as the backlog has created a mess of paperwork that makes it easier for fraudulent paperwork to be unnoticed. The rules and boundaries have become clearer when it comes to medical marijuana in Colorado. Now it is a matter of controlling and enforcing rules and regulations.

Over the weekend, the Oriental Theater hosted Colorado’s Caregiver Cup. Competition focused mainly on marijuana strains judged on aroma, flavor, and aesthetics. Although growing in popularity, the competition adhered to state laws and was only open to Colorado medical marijuana cardholders and caregivers. Additionally, there was no onsite distribution or ingestion. The “People's Choice Award”, the highest honor, was given to a strain named “Grape God”. As mentioned in early articles, fruity strains with high indica content tend to be most popular among patients as this strain delivered on both counts: heavy indica content with a strong grapefruit aroma. Cannabis Cup competitions were first introduced in Amsterdam where public consumption is accepted. Although Colorado’s version is still in its infancy, this is yet another example of growing acceptance and popularity among the public.

The first Western Slope Cannabis Crown will be held in Aspen this April celebrating the legitimacy of medicinal marijuana in Colorado. Over fifty growers are expected to enter strains of Colorado marijuana into the contest. Samples will be judged on THC levels as well as aesthetic properties such as flavor. Alternate forms of medical marijuana, such as edibles, will be entered as well. Samples will only be provided to Colorado medicinal marijuana card holders, of course. Cannabis fairs such as this are not an excuse to abuse the law, according to city officials and fair organizers. Instead, it is simply a way of sharing product, giving patients new options, and perhaps opening the minds of skeptics to the benefits of Colorado medical marijuana. A similar cannabis convention was recently proposed and denied in the town of Nederland. Nevertheless, this could be another example of Colorado medical marijuana slowly becoming accepted by the public.

For many patients in Colorado, medical marijuana use can be the most effective treatment for nausea available. Medical marijuana can help reduce nausea and actually stimulate the appetite, reducing the risk of weight loss in patients with such diseases as AIDS and cancer. In a study in 2007 where scientists surveyed HIV-positive marijuana smokers, the drug was shown to actually increase caloric intake and assist with weight gain. For those patients who do not respond to traditional forms of nausea medication, the use of medical marijuana has been shown to be not only a cost effective alternative, but symptoms actually improved to a greater degree as opposed to the use of clinical medicals. In a study by the New York State Journal of Medicine, 56 patients who did not respond to traditional medicine showed improvement when the use of medical marijuana was introduced.